Silence is the loudest noise of all
In August 2019, Batley Bulldogs hooker Archie Bruce made his debut for the club in an away defeat against Toulouse. He never returned home. Archie died from asphyxiation (suffocation) after a team night out.
A post-mortem report revealed Archie had consumed alcohol, cocaine and had 'toxic' levels of Tramadol (a strong painkiller) in his system at the time of his death.
The levels of Tramadol (a medication only available on prescription), according to an expert at Archie's inquest, was in fact double the level considered toxic and potentially fatal.
Archie's inquest was told that Batley Bulldogs players used Tramadol regularly, and illegal drugs including cocaine. One member of the Batley squad told the inquest "Everyone knows [about cocaine use in the squad], you just have to keep it under wraps".
After the inquest, Archie's family called for the RFL and its member clubs to implement a robust code of conduct to ensure a similar tragedy did not occur. The senior Coroner described Archie as having a "naive" attitude towards drug taking. Archie's family described him as impressionable, vulnerable and a young man who had a desire to fit in.
Archie died when he was 20 years old. The RFL have banned Tramadol from being used in-competition, in November 2023.
You could be forgiven, even if you are an ardent Rugby League fan, for this being the first time that you have read these details. If so, the first question I would ask is where do you get your Rugby League news from?
If the answer to that question is Rugby League Live (or Reach Plc / Hull Daily Mail / Leeds Live / Manchester Evening News), you would not have read of this. A Twitter advanced search reveals that it has never tweeted anything about Archie Bruce.
I'd argue this is a more important story than tweeting articles of quotes of whatever Jon Wilkin is 'fuming' about this week.
Love Rugby League last tweeted about Archie Bruce on the one year anniversary of his death. Again, not a word about Archie's inquest.
They may receive criticism for a reliance on 'clickbait' (including from me) but to its credit Total Rugby League and Serious About Rugby League have not ignored this story.
The BBC published a more detailed report about the use of Tramadol in Rugby League following Archie's inquest. If you have not read it, click here, it is well worth reading. It contains an on-record quote from Kris Welham who described Tramadol as a 'go-to' drug for our players.
Despite this, still no word from some of our leading Rugby League news sources. I question why that is. Does it not engage the readership? Does it not draw in the clicks? But to ignore this story is a way of ensuring young players do not learn from this tragic instance.
I thought about writing this piece last month but did not. However, this week I felt compelled to following the conviction of Dion Aiye.
Aiye is the captain of Whitehaven. He was convicted of assault by beating and harassment of his ex-partner last week. The full details are contained in this local news report. As a warning, that article is difficult to read.
Aiye played for Whitehaven this Sunday against Swinton. The club have made no comment on this conviction and have continued as though nothing has happened. He remains the club captain.
Last year, Whitehaven and other Cumbrian clubs partnered with a domestic violence charity to encourage people to call out violence against women. You can read the press release here.
Yet when one of their own is convicted of an offence of violence against women, the club remains silent. The club appears too weak to take a stand. The club does not call it out. They continue to play their captain (and has not stripped him of the captaincy). Its pledge to stand against violence towards women is shown to be a mealy-mouthed platitude.
Let's look at our main media sources again. Rugby League Live remain silent on the Aiye conviction. Love Rugby League remain silent. Serious About Rugby League (who will make an article of anything) remain silent. League Express' online output remains silent.
BBC Radio Cumbria have conducted two extended interviews with Whitehaven coach Jonty Gorley since the conviction was reported. On neither occasion was Gorley asked about Aiye continuing to play and captain the side.
Our sport is quite small. I wonder whether there is a reluctance to ask difficult questions for fear of upsetting your sources, for potentially ruining that juicy transfer scoop, for damaging carefully coveted relationships of trust. And I understand why journalists may not want to risk that. After all, they have jobs to do just like us all.
I could give many more examples. St Helens launched an investigation into a fan being allegedly racially abused in their opening home match against Catalans in 2022. No word of this investigation was ever released. The RFL pledged to investigate alleged racism against Mikolaj Oledzki in Leeds' match against Warrington in 2021. No outcome or conclusion was ever published.
This piece may seem quite critical, and it is. But there are some outstanding local journalists who produce some wonderful content (Mike Critchley of St Helens Star and Matt Turner of Warrington Guardian to name but two).
Rugby League Hub is another source which does not dodge difficult stories (including the Aiye conviction) and has relentlessly pursued stories such as Featherstone and Toronto's non-payment of staff.
Many ask why our sport was led by the likes of Ralph Rimmer. I'd argue a reluctance to ask difficult questions is one reason. Rimmer even managed to survive making overtly racist comments about Fijians before the last Rugby League World Cup.
I contrast the treatment of Dion Aiye with that of ex-players suing the RFL. In a recent opinion piece published by Reach Plc, the following was said of the latter:
"To the former players suing the sport because you've been promised a payday, I hope you're proud of yourselves. Well done for driving up insurance premiums and contributing to this mess. Legally, infuriatingly, I cannot name them. But there are people actively involved in the sport, in various capacities, involved in that lawsuit, secretly trying to gather more people. Hang your heads in shame. I don't know how you have the nerve."
That extract contains many allegations which lack any evidence to support them (a promise of a payday and covert operations to gather more people to join the action, to name but two) and are worded vaguely enough so they cannot be disproved.
Whatever you think of those suing the game, here are some facts. Some have brain injuries. Some struggle to cope in environments with light or noise that is greater than average. Some are doubly incontinent. Some suffer the indignity of having to rely on family members for basic personal care. Some are suffering from dementia in their 40's. At least one of those players have been told that they will die before the age of 60.
For these people, there is no limit on the judgement that shall be cast; there are no words too harsh to condemn their actions.
Yet, by sharp contrast, for those who beat and harass their partners, for those who peer pressure impressionable young men into taking illegal drugs, for those who drink drive and recklessly endanger the lives of others (and their clubs who refuse to condemn such actions), the ink of the pen of judgement of the Rugby League media and Twitter commentariat runs dry.
These are cases where silence speaks louder than words ever could. The tragic death of Archie Bruce and the conviction of Dion Aiye are two such examples.
To say nothing is a choice. To stay quiet is a choice. I'd argue it's the easy choice. I'd argue loudly that it is the wrong choice.
UPDATE: Since this article was published Love Rugby League, Rugby League Live, Total Rugby League and BBC Sport have reported on the Dion Aiye matter.
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/whitehaven-dion-aiye-rfl-tribunal-28847240
https://www.totalrl.com/whitehaven-captain-sentenced-after-admitting-assault-and-harassment/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/68614678
Meanwhile, Whitehaven have released the following statement and have stripped Dion Aiye of the club captaincy:
https://twitter.com/OfficialHavenRl/status/1770198148171854096
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